You can find the complete exhibition text here.
Six artists lay down trails in the Artists’ Bar at Cabaret Voltaire, leading in various directions. The exhibition “The Red Herring” named after the English expression for a false or misleading clue, plays not only with distraction but also with ambiguity and the expectations we place on contemporary art and the historical birthplace of Dada. This site is visited daily by tourists, the art scene, and random passersby – some hoping to discover treasures from the last century, despite the space undergoing modifications over time. The artists’ traces deliberately steer away from straightforward interpretations but always lead back to Dada, to the history of the site, to their own artistic practices, and to the concepts linked with the idea of an art tavern – both generally and in relation to this specific place: the Cabaret Voltaire was founded in 1916 on the upper floor, known as Holländerstübli of the Dutch Dairy, a meeting spot where beer and wine were served and where the old sailor Jan Ephraim occasionally offered fish, as newspaper ads from 1915 in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung attest.
The Dadaists opened the Cabaret Voltaire during the First World War, initially as the “Künstlerkneipe Voltaire” – artists’ tavern Voltaire –, as a space for artistic and intellectual exchange. The exhibition background recalls the atmosphere of this same venue, as seen in a 1940 photograph. Presumably, the interior was even more rustic in the 1916 tavern; it remains unclear to what extent the “Swissness” of the working-class and entertainment district at time interacted with the internationality and diversity of the Dadaists and the owner. Today’s Artists’ Bar embraces these references and expands them with contemporary practices and questions. This is reflected not only in the diverse works of the artists but also in the carved words and phrases on the wooden structure – a common characteristic of taverns and historic sites, stemming from the desire to leave a mark behind. Here, banal statements sit alongside serious thoughts and demands, much like a social media feed where everyday life and politics coexist problematically side by side. The works and inscriptions will remain until the summer of 2025. Who knows what the world will look like then at this place, which once stood as a symbol of resistance against militarism, authoritarianism, and war and advocated for international solidarity as well as new societal and artistic forms.
Camille Lütjens, Carlo Travaglia, Elena Barmpa, Ice Wong Kei Suet, Laura Nan and Stéphane Nabil Petitmermet are currently completing their master’s degrees at the Zurich University of the Arts. The Dadaists themselves were also in their early twenties when they founded the Cabaret Voltaire – some still students, while others, such as Sophie Taeuber-Arp, were already affiliated with the institution now known as ZHdK. In its aim to integrate emerging artists at the beginning of their careers alongside established and historical figures, the Cabaret Voltaire has invited these six up-and-coming artists to collaboratively shape the Artists’ Bar, reinterpreting it through their individual practices while echoing the history of the site.
In cooperation with Zürcher Hochschule der Künste
Supported by:
Stiftung Erna und Curt Burgauer
Susanne und Martin Knechtli-Kradolfer-Stiftung
